


The Other Earp

by beaglesinbowties (Girlblunder)



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 11:14:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7889284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlblunder/pseuds/beaglesinbowties
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the Season 1 finale.</p><p>Things are different now, but neither Wynonna or Nicole will understand why. Not at first, at least - especially when they're preoccupied with Waverly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Other Earp

**Author's Note:**

> HAHAHAHAHAHA I DON'T EVEN KNOW. ENJOY. (As always thanks to crna_macka for dealing with my random questions while I'm writing. She is all about those notes, best alpha/beta evaaar!)

* * *

The Sheriff's office is nearly empty this time of morning; things have slowed down since Bobo’s disappearance. For a change, Nicole knows the truth. Bobo Del Rey is in hell where he belongs.

“Where’s everybody?” comes Nedley’s rough voice. Nicole gives him a relieved smile, glad to have company other than her runaway thoughts.

Nedley looks worn out and pale, with more than a day’s growth of beard on his face. His uniform is as tidy as usual - which is to say his shirt is partially unbuttoned and there’s a dark stain she doesn’t want to know about over his breast pocket.

He’s hungover again, Nicole thinks. A lot of people have been hungover since surviving Bobo’s poison, somewhat ironically imbibing in far more than they should at Bobo’s bar.

“I imagine still in bed,” Nicole replies unhelpfully.

Nedley squints at her and then waves a dismissive hand, deciding not to bother. “There any coffee on?”

“Made a pot as soon as I got in.” Nicole holds up her plain white mug, its dark contents swishing a warning with the movement.

He nods carefully once and brings a hand up to press against his temple. “Carry on then, Officer.”

Nicole quirks a brow at his retreating back, taking a sip from her mug. She’s gotten used to black coffee here, though it tastes three-days-old and twice-burned despite how many times she’s cleaned the coffee maker - another mystery of Purgatory that she’ll probably never get a real explanation for.

It’s not the coffee that’s got her here so early in the morning, not when she could have still been at the Earp homestead. She hadn’t wanted to linger, not after another night of disappointing Waverly with her inability to be intimate. Nicole is more than aware that chaste forehead kisses and awkward hugs hadn’t been what Waves had been hoping for.

Nicole puts her mug down and cautiously tugs open a drawer. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for her to be looking at any files, but she feels self conscious all the same.

 _Earp, Wynonna_ , the white label reads. She’d pulled the file months ago.

_Only a week fresh to Purgatory, Nicole finds herself hurrying to send out a package for her niece’s birthday. Thankful that she’s driven around the town numerous times, she slows as she catches sight of the post office. A smile stretches her face when she pictures how happy her niece will be. A woman across the street returns the smile. She nearly walks face first into the closed door of the post office._

She hadn’t known at the time that the woman that had caught her eye was Waverly Earp. That had taken more time to find out, but Nicole hadn’t minded. She’d come to Purgatory to get away from her old life and old heartaches, so a nice casual crush had suited her just fine.

When word had hit that Wynonna, Waverly’s infamous sister, had returned to town, Nicole hadn’t been able to contain her curiosity. There’d been rumors of course, but Nicole had wanted facts.

Her hands run over the plain manila envelope.

Months ago, Wynonna had just been Waverly’s sister. Now? Now, Nicole isn’t sure. They might be friends and - maybe - something else.

*****

_One month ago_

Nicole winces as she slips her keys into the ignition of her car. Nedley, even in his poisoned state, had grumbled that she should visit the hospital. The arrival of the suited members of the Black Badge division had served as a good distraction for her to slip away - they’d come to inform the sheriff that anti-psychotics were being distributed to the townspeople. Their swift response is almost puzzling considering the usual snail’s pace of the government.

She supposes their work is done since she doesn’t see any of the black suits around any more as her car slowly rolls through Purgatory, but it’s eerie how quickly they’ve vanished after their sudden appearance. Something twists in her chest and she has the sudden feeling that she needs to find Waverly.

The car speeds along faster than it should, but Nicole’s on a mission. She really likes her new friends, and Waverly - well, Waverly. She _really_ likes Waverly.

She’d really prefer it if Waverly lives through this; they still have a lot of things to figure out.

They’re not at Shorty’s or anywhere else in town she’s driven past, and just as she’s considering checking out the homestead, something moving in the sky in the distance catches her eye.

Her eyes widen, and she jerks reflexively at the wheel to drive a little closer. She can’t tell what they are, but they’re moving fast, trailing fire and smoke, and headed right for Purgatory. There’s a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Nicole swallows, knowing that she doesn’t have time to warn anyone. She wishes she’d remembered to call her sister yesterday.

Black inky clouds abruptly sweep upward and swallow up the projectiles. There’s muffled explosions, and then Nicole’s pointing her squad car toward the town line with a racing heart.

Her car screeches to a halt and she’s scrambling to unbuckle her seatbelt. There’s three figures, and as she rushes closers she sees Waverly curled up tightly in Wynonna’s arms. Henry is crouched next to them looking a mix of nonplussed and worried.

Nicole focuses on Waverly. “Waverly!”

Waverly turns her way briefly, and Nicole sees something dark flicker through normally dark green irises before Waverly turns to bury her face against Wynonna’s leather jacket.

“Are you okay?” Nicole asks, slowing and standing awkwardly over the trio.

“Okay is a relative term,” Waverly says tiredly.

Wynonna pulls Waverly closer, her left hand cupping the back of her sister’s head. “You’re alive. That’s all that matters, baby girl.”

Something in Wynonna’s voice makes Nicole focus on her face. The normally carefree brunette seems unusually solemn, her eyes hard and her lips subtly downturned as she stares across the gate that leads out of town.

Nicole follows her gaze but sees nothing out of the ordinary.

“What happened?” she asks, her frustration beginning to well as the silence lingers.

“Not now, Flatfoot,” Wynonna says in a tired voice.

Henry rolls back on his heels and stands, adjusting his hat as he nods at Nicole. “Since we have found ourselves so far this way without transportation, perhaps you might take us along in your automobile back on to the homestead?”

“O-of course.” Nicole’s head jerks as she scrambles to help both Waverly and Wynonna stand.

Wynonna gives her a brief appreciative look, and then the Earp sisters settle into the back of the car.

Nicole fidgets with her rear view mirror as Henry takes the front passenger seat. “They gonna be alright?” she asks in a low voice as she stares at the still-embracing siblings. Wynonna is whispering something to Waverly, and Nicole desperately wishes she could hear the words.

“I do not know,” Henry says in his oddly formal way, “but they come from good stock. They are prime examples of their heritage.”

“Right.” Her hands flex around the steering wheel a few times before she manages to focus on the road rather than the reflection of the rear passenger seat.

*

Wynonna is silent as she helps Waverly change into her pajamas - a scruffy t-shirt that used to belong to Wynonna and bright pink pajama bottoms with white polka dots.

“Don’t tell Nicole about me,” Waverly says with watery eyes as she stares up at Wynonna from her supine position.

“Course not,” Wynonna says as she reaches up to tuck some of Waverly’s hair behind an ear. Waverly looks just like she did when they were kids and their dad was drunk and screaming at their mother, her eyes wide as her hands clutch at the blankets. All that’s missing is Mr. Plumpkins.

It makes Wynonna’s chest hurt. She forces a smile. “Don’t worry, you’re gonna be fine.”

Waverly’s nostrils flare as she fights tears. “You don’t know that. I almost shot you. If Doc hadn’t--”

“But he did,” Wynonna interrupts softly, “and then you saved us and Purgatory with that cool cloud trick. Now listen to your big sister and rest a while, okay?”

“K.” Waverly still looks shaken, but her eyes close when Wynonna leans down and presses a gentle kiss to the middle of her forehead.

Wynonna watches her shaky breathing even out before standing and quietly leaving the room.

She pauses and stares at the closed door. She’s already lost one sister today, and she doesn’t care what the black goo might have turned Waverly into. Wynonna’s not losing the only sister she has left.

Nicole’s pacing in the kitchen when Wynonna comes downstairs. Doc’s seated at the table, rocking back and forth on the back two legs of his chair. They both stop and look at her the moment she comes into sight.

“Is she okay?” Nicole asks as she turns her hat around in her hands.

Her obvious concern makes Wynonna soften. Just a little. “Are _you_ okay? You kinda got shot today.”

Nicole lets out a frustrated breath, slapping her hat against her leg. “I’m just a little bruised. Will you at least please tell me what happened today?”

She looks over to Doc, who abruptly brings his chair back down on all four legs. “I think I need to attend to a few personal matters. If you’ll excuse me.” He makes eye contact with Wynonna, and she knows he won’t be far. She acknowledges him with a slow blink.

“I’m gonna need a drink if we’re gonna talk about this,” Wynonna says as she retrieves a bottle of whiskey from the cupboard.

She pulls out a glass for Nicole, but doesn’t bother with one for herself. Her feet are heavy as she leads the way to the living room, where she slumps on the couch and brings her feet up to rest on the low table. The wooden back digs into her shoulder blades, but she doesn’t care.

When Nicole tentatively takes a seat a little over an arm’s length away, Wynonna pours three fingers of whiskey into the glass and offers it over.

Nicole shakes her head. Wynonna shrugs and knocks the drink back in one pained swallow. She starts speaking, keeping in mind Waverly’s request as she picks up at the last time she’d seen Nicole.

Maybe Wynonna might consider not talking about this on another day, but it isn’t another day. She’s seen and done too much in the last twenty-four hours, and maybe she silently admits it’s nice to talk to someone other than herself. Dolls is who-knows-where, and who knows how long Doc will stick around this time. Maybe it’s better that she scare Nicole off now anyway; even with Nicole dating Waverly, Wynonna’s still not the best friend material.

“You had to shoot your sister?”

Wynonna sucks in a sharp breath and stares at the now half-empty bottle, wondering when she’d lost track of her words. She hadn’t meant to talk about that part.

“Just another day in Purgatory,” Wynonna says dryly as she takes a numbed sip from her bottle.

Willa hadn’t deserved death, not after everything she’d been through. Waverly doesn’t remember much of their father, but Wynonna does. She remembers taking care of Willa’s damaged hands and bruised face after extended training with their father. She can’t and doesn’t want to imagine how Bobo twisted and bent Willa’s mind, not to mention what other dark things had been visited upon her beloved older sister in captivity.

She’ll always remember the big sister that had kissed her scraped knees and held her close when she’d had a nightmare. She’d never understood how Willa could stay so strong in the face of their father, how Willa could fearlessly step in front of a raised fist with a still-bloody nose so Wynonna wouldn’t get hurt.

Dolls, Doc, and even Waverly didn’t understand. They couldn’t.

“She _was_ kind of an asshole,” Nicole quips.

Wynonna wants to lash out. She snaps her head up, but Nicole looks sad.

“I don’t want to imagine what my sister might have been like if she’d gone through half the crazy shit yours did.” Nicole’s voice is hoarse. It soothes Wynonna’s anger.

She doesn’t wonder how Nicole might know what Willa might have gone through, not now that Wynonna is aware that Nicole and Waverly have been kind of dating. Nicole only knows the stuff that Waverly was able to tell her.

“She older or younger than you?”

“Older.”

When Wynonna pours whiskey into the glass - only a single finger this time - Nicole accepts the offering.

“You still won’t tell me what happened to Waverly?”

Wynonna’s lips twitch partly in annoyance, partly in understanding. “It’s Waverly’s story to tell, not mine.”

She tries not to think of dancing gummy bears or how, despite all the years and experiences apart, Willa somehow smelled the same as she had when they were kids. Wynonna can keep a secret.

Wynonna’s phone buzzes, she paws for it clumsily and manages to answer before it stops ringing.

“Y-ello.”

“ _We’re not sure how you did it, but I should be grateful you somehow managed to stop the missiles. My little pet revenant seems to have disappeared; you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, Earp?_ ”

It’s only been a matter of hours since Wynonna heard Lucado’s voice, so the sound is still fresh in her mind. She scowls. “Where’s Dolls?” she snaps out.

“ _That’s no concern of yours. Now, about my reven_ \--”

“You’re an asshole, lady. Also, just so you know, this is _Canada_. You crazy fucking Americans might get away doing whatever south of here, but you fire more missiles our way and you bet you’ll have a lot of angry people on your hands. I shot footage of those little presents with my phone, and I already sent it off to an old friend of mine who works at Google. Don’t test me.”

“ _Are you finished?_ ”

Lucado’s bland voice enrages Wynonna further. She almost forgets that she’s bluffing. “No, you bring back Dolls, and you bring us some goddamn antidotes.”

“ _The antidotes have already arrived. You can forget about the other thing._ ”

Wynonna growls and hangs up, tossing her phone angrily to the low table. She swallows a mouthful of whiskey.

“Sounded like that went well.”

“Just about as well as my entire life up ‘til now,” Wynonna quips as she cradles the whiskey bottle against her chest. She doesn’t look at Nicole, not knowing what to do with the other woman when all she wants is to get so drunk she can’t remember her own name.

“Well, no, actually they sent the antidotes, so that’s one point more than my life has going for it,” she adds after a moment of contemplation.

“That’s good to hear--that they sent the antidotes, I mean.” Nicole looks uncomfortable, her hands playing nervously with her glass.

Wynonna snorts and then leans over to pour a little more whiskey into the empty glass. She stands. “This has been fun bonding, pal, but I’m going to go ahead and mosey on over to my room and get rip-roaring drunk.”

Nicole straightens on the couch to give Wynonna a serious look. “Would it be alright if I crashed on the couch? I know you said the antidotes were here, but I’d feel better if…”

Though Nicole’s words trail off, Wynonna follows her gaze to the stairs. She feels respect for Nicole, and the tight knot between her shoulderblades eases a little. It’ll be nice to have an extra gun around tonight, just in case. “Sure thing, Nic, but if you make a habit of it I might have to charge you rent.”

The words garner an eye roll, and Wynonna grins and wiggles her fingers in a semblance of a wave. The trip to her room is short, and she undresses, uncaring that the space isn’t closed off. She settles onto her bed, adjusting her pillow to be sure she has clear line of sight to as much of the house as possible.

She smiles when she sees Nicole sprawled out over the couch, her duty belt off and hanging from one of the arms. If Wynonna squints, she can just make out the unbuttoned gun holster.

“Rookie,” Wynonna mumbles as she settles Peacemaker across her abdomen.

*

Nicole wakes up with a stiff neck, and she grimaces as she sits up and tries to blink the sleep from her eyes. She rolls her head from side to side with drooping eyes, wishing she’d slept a little better but not regretting her choice to stay at the Earp homestead.

She yawns and runs a hand through her loose hair, just making out Wynonna sprawled out face down on her bed and still gripping her gun.

“Someone should really have a talk with her about gun safety,” Nicole mumbles. She sighs and tugs her phone from her pocket to check the time. She’s not on duty today, but she’s still woken up at the time her alarm would normally be going off.

It’s tempting to head upstairs to check on Waverly, but Nicole respects that maybe Waverly isn’t ready to see her for whatever reasons.

She’s not ready to go home and she’s unsure when either Earp sister will wake, so she makes her way to the kitchen. The refrigerator is mostly bare, but she finds a few eggs and the stiff remains of a loaf of bread.

Time passes quickly as she brews a pot of coffee and prepares the eggs, carefully checking the bread for mold before popping a few slices into the large toaster. Part of her hopes the smell will summon Waverly down, but she tries not to think about it.

Just as she’s settled down with a portion of the eggs and a fresh mug of coffee, a grumbling Wynonna wanders into the kitchen.

“S’that smell,” Wynonna asks in a mumble with nearly-closed eyes.

“Breakfast,” Nicole says. She shakes her head and smears some butter on her toast. Wynonna is only in a pair of cotton black panties and a white tank top.

“We had food?”

Nicole scoops up some eggs and arches an eyebrow Wynonna’s way. “Something like that.”

She doesn’t protest when Wynonna immediately serves herself a heaping pile of egg and two pieces of toast. Cold eggs are unpleasant, and Nicole is thinking about running to the store to pick up some fresh ingredients for Waverly anyway.

“This is good,” Wynonna says as she takes her first bite of egg.

“Happy to be of service.” Nicole’s lips twitch as she sips at her coffee. She pauses and stares down at the mug. It’s the best tasting she’s had since her move to Purgatory.

The way Wynonna wolfs down her food makes Nicole think of some kids she’d seen at the group homes back in the city. She recalls that Wynonna had spent time in St Victoria’s, as well as garnered three trips to juvenile detention, and maybe the eating habits make sense.

It isn’t until she’s nearly finished her toast that she realizes that Wynonna had been sent to St Victoria’s for seeing demons. Demons that Nicole now knows are real and living right in Purgatory.

The toast struggles to make it down her throat. She’d taken a trip out to St Victoria’s a few weeks ago to return an elderly patient who’d wandered away. The place had been positively depressing, and she can’t imagine a twelve year old in the place full of vacant faces and dead-eyed employees.

Wynonna catches her staring, so Nicole hurriedly gulps down some coffee.

“I got egg on my face?”

Nicole is relieved at the question. “Yeah, actually. A little. Right here,” she says as she points to a spot on her own face.

Wynonna reacts by rubbing the back of her hand all around her mouth. She looks at Nicole, who nods at the silent question. The egg is definitely gone.

“Waverly come down yet?” Wynonna asks as she stuffs half a piece of toast into her mouth.

“No.” Nicole frowns. “Should she have?”

Wynonna is frowning now too. “Maybe,” she says as she swallows. “I’ll be right back.”

Nicole is up and pacing when she hears the loud exclamation of “goddammit!” She rushes to the stairs without hesitation. “What is it?” she calls out with a racing heart as she makes her way up.

“Waverly’s gone,” comes Wynonna’s forlorn response.

The moment Nicole steps into Waverly’s room, she understands. Wynonna is sitting slumped over on the bed, an unfolded piece of paper in her hands.

“She left a note?” Nicole’s voice is high-pitched with anxiety, but she can’t help it.

“Yeah.”

Wynonna seems to curl in on herself, her body somehow appearing smaller. She takes in a shaky breath and then she’s standing with blazing eyes. “Come on, Nic. Let’s get Henry and find Waverly.”

The letter crumples a little in Wynonna’s grip as she leaves the room, but Nicole doesn’t mention it. She’ll ask in a moment when she’s not trying to keep up with Wynonna.

“Nonna,” Nicole snaps when Wynonna’s almost to the door. “Put some pants on.”

Wynonna stops to scowl over at her.

Nicole tries again. “Look, you get dressed and I’ll go get Henry. Then we’ll go find Waverly, okay?”

“Hurry,” Wynonna says with a serious look.

*

Seven days and countless campsites later, they still haven’t found Waverly. After the fifth day Henry had hedged that maybe he’d be better of tracking on his own. Wynonna had swallowed her pride and returned home the same day.

“Son of a bitch,” Wynonna half-sobs, half-growls as she reads Waverly’s note again. She wishes she’d never put Bobo out of his misery, curse or not.

_I stayed up a while before I realized that this is something I need to figure out for myself, Wynonna._

_I love you, but I’m not an Earp. Bobo told me._

_I know, I know, he could have been lying, but there was just something about his eyes...I don’t know. I think he was telling the truth._

_I know you’re worried, but I can handle this. I might not be an Earp, but I was raised like one. Whatever this is, whatever I’ve become, it’s not safe for any of you right now._

_Tell Nicole I’m sorry._

Wynonna wipes at the moisture on her face and sits up to reach for the bottle of Jack she’d picked up on her way home from another fruitless search. It’s not her usual choice, but she’d only told the clerk ‘whiskey’ and not much else. She hadn’t cared enough to tell him otherwise.

The door creaks open with the bottle halfway to her lips, and she immediately sets it down and clumsily grabs for Peacemaker. Henry only checks in once every two days, and he’d been by yesterday.

“Jesus, Wy,” Nicole exclaims as she pushes past the door with her shoulder. “Did something die in here?”

Wynonna immediately stops trying to reach for Peacemaker and instead turns to untangling her legs from the blanket. “Dunno. I mean, a few _people_ have, but…”

The silence makes her look up. Nicole is still standing at the front door, and she’s sending a displeased look into Wynonna’s bedroom.

Wynonna’s used to looks like that, and worse from Gus and the rest of the town. She focuses on the brown paper bags in Nicole’s arms. “Wha’dya got there, Flatfoot?”

“Groceries,” Nicole says with an exasperated sigh. “You can’t live on booze, Wynonna.”

“I had potatoes. Yesterday.” She pauses to think. “Maybe the day before yesterday. Vodka made from potatoes counts, right?”

Nicole doesn’t respond, instead shaking her head and mumbling unintelligible things as she kicks her way through empty bottles and empty food wrappers Wynonna doesn’t remember.

Waverly’s letter is folded up and tucked away in her bra, and then she’s in the kitchen watching Nicole studiously put the groceries away. “You can’t live like this, Wy.”

“It’s worked for me so far.” Wynonna shrugs. She’s not dead yet.

Nicole doesn’t speak, her jaw tight as she finishes up.

It’s almost a relief to see her angry. Wynonna can handle angry.

“Is this what you want Waverly to come home to?” Nicole finally snaps as she’s flattening the now empty paper bags. She gestures around to the mess in the kitchen - the sink is filthy with dirty dishes and leftovers, with trash haphazardly discarded over the table and floor.

The words sting, but Wynonna is comfortable being a disappointment. It’s what she’s best at. “She’s not coming home, Nic. The moment she found out she wasn’t an Earp she realized she could be free of this damn place.” _Free of me,_ she wants to say. She doesn’t.

Nicole’s nostrils flare as she purses her lips. “You’re a damn fool, Wynonna Earp.”

“Been called worse,” Wynonna says with a shrug. Her hands itch for her bottle. “What are you doing here anyway? I didn’t ask you to come by.”

She’s a little defensive and she’s not sure why. Sure, Waverly had been dating this woman, but Nicole and Wynonna are hardly friends. A few moments of bonding did not a friend make. Wynonna is bad at that sort of thing, anyway.

“I,” Nicole starts, but then stops. Her throat works and then she looks away. She shrugs. “I don’t know. Nothing’s been happening at the station; things are so quiet in Purgatory now, and it’s almost like everything’s normal. But it’s not. Waverly’s gone. Demons exist. I think I’m going crazy.”

Wynonna stares at her a minute before walking over to the kitchen table. She kicks out a chair and motions for Nicole to sit.

Nicole rubs a hand over her head and sits.

Wynonna pulls out a chair for herself, tilting it a little when she discovers some trash settled on the seat. Nicole doesn’t comment, and Wynonna takes a seat.

“You’ve come to the right place,” Wynonna jokes with a wry smile. After a moment of thought, she thinks maybe it’s not much of a joke at all.

Nicole begins peeling a label from an empty whiskey bottle. “Will you just talk to me for a bit? Doesn’t matter what it’s about.”

Wynonna’s hands are still itching so she presses them flat against the table. “You know, before I came here I was in Greece for a bit…”

*

It becomes a habit, stopping by the Earp homestead after her lone rounds to search for Waverly. She’ll clean up a bit while Wynonna eats, and sometimes after they’re both done Wynonna might even tell her a story.

Nicole is as surprised as Wynonna is the first time she hears about the night Willa was taken. She’s read about the event of course, but it’s not the same as listening to Wynonna and seeing the fresh sting of tears in her eyes.

Waverly’s own memories of the night had been vague, but Wynonna’s are vivid. Nicole can almost smell the sweat and musk of the men as they storm the threshold, taste the fear of a young Willa and Wynonna as their home is breached.

She doesn’t mind when Wynonna changes the subject, respectful of the trust Wynonna has shown. How many times had Wynonna been mocked and ridiculed for her recollection? Nicole couldn’t be sure, but she feels a deeper understanding for Wynonna having heard the story.

“Did you find anything today?” Wynonna asks.

“No,” Nicole admits after a moment’s hesitation. She goes out for Wynonna as much for herself, as much for Waverly now. She wishes she had a different answer.

Wynonna slumps, her face seeming haggard as she runs her fingers through her hair. “Me either.”

Three weeks and four days after Waverly disappears, Nicole stops by the homestead to find dried blood in the kitchen and Wynonna nowhere in sight.

“Wynonna?” she calls out as she removes her service weapon from its holster. There’s no response.

The blood moves in a sporadic trail that she diligently follows until she’s out the back door and loses sight of the dark spots. She grits her teeth before she notices the barn door is open.

She’s making a beeline for the door before she can consider that maybe it’s dangerous and maybe she should call for backup - but that doesn’t matter because Wynonna could be hurt.

Her lungs seize when she sees the orange flicker of lantern light against the wall, and she turns inside the barn sharply, weapon raised.

Wynonna is sitting on Henry’s cot, legs dangling over the side. Her hands are braced against the wooden frame, one of which is wrapped with a red handkerchief.

“Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?” she snaps out as she holsters her gun. Nicole is beyond angry.

Wynonna visibly jumps, blinking over at Nicole and then frowning. “I could say the same for you.”

Nicole tugs off her hat in frustration, knocking it against her thigh. “I drove up a few minutes ago, I was hardly quiet. I even _called out_ for you when I was inside and I saw the blood all over the kitchen.”

“Oh. Oops.” Wynonna’s smile is sheepish. “Had a little accident, and I didn’t have anything to wrap it with. I remember Waverly washing a bunch of Henry’s handkerchiefs and leaving them here.”

She points to a small wooden crate, where there’s still three neatly folded triangles of cloth. “Henry hasn’t really been back much to use them, so,” Wynonna shrugs. She’s still staring at the crate.

Nicole takes a steadying breath and then sits next to Wynonna. It’s odd to think this is the same space she and Waverly had sneaked off to for private time with Wynonna here at her side.

Being with Waverly seems like an eternity ago now that Waverly’s been gone almost as long as they’d been officially - she mentally corrects herself - _kind of_ been dating.

“Waverly is such an asshole,” she says without thinking.

“ _What_?”

“Oh, come on.” She turns to face Wynonna with a scowl. “She is. I’m still not sure what happened to her, but she didn’t have to take off the way that she did. She has you, and she left? Bullshit.”

“And you,” Wynonna adds with a frown.

Nicole turns away. “Did she have me? I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me what happened, and instead of talking to me like, at all, she just took off.”

“She loves you,” Wynonna says in a low voice. When Nicole glances her way, she’s still frowning.

Nicole doesn’t bother suppressing her snort. “We’d only been dating a few weeks - a few very _closeted_ weeks - and she couldn’t even admit we were girlfriends when I was being held at gunpoint! How can I believe she loves me?”

“Well, I mean, I break out in hives at the thought of being anyone’s girlfriend.”

“Yeah, well, she’s not _you_ , Wynonna. She had no problem publicly dating that asshat Champ.” Nicole forces herself to look away, unable to pinpoint the source of her anger or why it’s threatening to overwhelm her.

“She had all sorts of problems dating Champ.”

The words barely register as Nicole mulls something over. Maybe she’s not looking for Waverly for herself at all anymore, but more because it’s the right thing to do.

Wynonna can’t lose the only sister she has left.

When Wynonna’s hand settles on her shoulder, Nicole freezes. “I, uh, have to go,” she says as she abruptly stands.

“Hey, you okay, Nic?” Wynonna’s brows are furrowed with concern. It’s almost enough to make Nicole laugh. It’s odd how Wynonna has lost more than any one person Nicole has ever known and yet still tries, still cares despite all her attempts not to.

Maybe that’s why Nicole’s just realized that she genuinely cares about Wynonna - more than she should for the sister of the woman she’s supposed to be dating. It’s creeped up on her, a slow and and pervasive thing that’s brought her out here nearly every night for the last week.

“Yeah, I just...realized I was supposed to Skype with my sister and the kids tonight,” she lies.

A melancholy look flashes over Wynonna’s face briefly before it’s gone. “Well, you better not miss that.”

Nicole nods and stands, her right hand gripping the rim of her hat tightly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Wynonna offers her a mock salute and then Nicole is hurrying to her car as fast as her legs will take her.

*

It’s almost anticlimactic when Waverly returns on the back of Henry’s horse a few days later. Wynonna isn’t sure how she got from the house to the barn so quickly, but she does know the feel of her baby sister in her arms. She cries without trying to hold the tears back.

“Don’t you ever leave like that again,” she warns even though the words are hypocritical of her to say.

Waverly just laughs and accepts the noisy kisses to her forehead. “I was on my way back, I swear.”

“Would you believe I stumbled upon her whilst trying to find a suitable place to relieve myself?” Henry says as he dismounts.

Wynonna makes a face. “Ew, Henry. TMI.”

“TMI?” Henry asks with confusion.

Instead of replying, Wynonna elects to ignore him. She turns, her right arm resting over Waverly’s shoulders as she leads the way back inside the house. “Talk to me, tell me what happened.”

Waverly talks for over an hour, her voice hoarse by the time she finishes.

“You went to the _Stone Witch_?” Wynonna isn’t sure if she’s proud or furious. Henry, who’s lingered to listen to the tale, is absolutely furious.

“You cannot trust a word that passes that _serpent’s_ lips. I thought you knew better, Waverly Earp!” Doc’s hands are on his hips and he looks ready to storm from the room.

“I _do_ , that’s why I also went to Mattie’s. She has books and things there, and I was careful not to get too close to Constance. Look, it worked out. At least I know I’m the daughter of a witch now, and I was able to get rid of that nasty bit of evil soul that had bound itself to me.” Waverly looks so smug that Wynonna has to punch her arm.

Just as Wynonna’s about to pull out the rarely-used big sister act, the front door opens.

“Hey, Wy, I see Henry’s horse is back. I brought Ch--” Nicole freezes in front of the door, a large white paper bag in her hands.

“Hi,” Waverly says in a small voice.

Nicole doesn’t move, her face seemingly expressionless as she stares at Waverly.

Something twists in Wynonna’s stomach. She knows Nicole’s been dealing with a great deal of anger and frustration with Waverly’s disappearance.

“I’m sorry,” Waverly says a moment before she stands and rushes to Nicole.

Nicole remains stubbornly stiff, but relaxes into the embrace after a moment.

Wynonna smiles, though the sight of their affection makes her uncomfortable for some unknown reason.

“Can we talk?” Waverly asks in a soft voice.

“Yeah. I guess.” Nicole steps awkwardly away and approaches Wynonna. She sets the bag down on the low table. “Gung Bao chicken, there’s an extra container of hot sauce in there.”

Wynonna nods and watches them go. She glances to the food, but her stomach is in knots and she doesn’t feel like eating.

Waverly is finally back.

*****

Nicole doesn’t see Wynonna for nearly a month after she’s broken things off with Waverly. It’s painful, essentially ending the romantic relationship with Waverly and her tentative friendship with Wynonna all at once.

It isn’t until Dolls abruptly returns and begins organizing Black Badge activities that Nicole suddenly finds herself in the same room as Wynonna again.

Wynonna hasn’t bothered coming to the station at all, but Nicole really should have known better after receiving the call from Dolls. They’re having a meeting today.

Dolls has a speech prepared about their new goals and Nicole does her best to nod along where appropriate. At a certain point his eyes meet Wynonna’s in a way that forces Nicole to look away. It’s none of her business, and she can’t get out of the room fast enough once the meeting is over.

She’s only needed in case of emergencies, and she has other work to do.

That evening she doesn’t expect to find Wynonna with a hip cocked against her desk, bottle in one hand and an irritated look on her face.

Nicole looks around for an excuse to get up, but nearly everyone has gone home for the night.

“Surprised you’re still interested in Black Badge,” Wynonna says as she twists roughly at the cap of the bottle. “You couldn’t wait to get away from us Earps, after all.”

“It’s not like that,” Nicole says after taking several careful breaths. She doesn’t look directly at Wynonna.

“The hell it’s not. You were still looking for Waverly up until you got back and found out she’s a witch.” The cap is tossed violently at Nicole’s desk. She reaches out a hand to stop it on the second bounce, not wanting it to fall to the ground.

She stares at the dark tinted metal a moment before slowly spinning it. “You know more than anyone that I wasn’t okay with how Waverly left. I don’t care about the witch thing, or the Earp thing, or the curse thing.”

Nicole is proud she sounds calm. It helps that she doesn’t look at Wynonna.

“Then what was it, Nicole, hm? Waverly is the best goddamn thing to ever happen to this town. She’s smart, and beautiful, and honestly a better Earp than I could ever hope to be.”

As much as Nicole knows she shouldn’t, she looks up at Wynonna. “Waverly is a great woman, yes. You know, I,” she shakes her head and swallows the words back. “I just realized I didn’t feel the way I should about her. The way she left just kind of killed whatever I had. I’m too old for relationships like that. Did she _really_ have to stay away almost a month without a word to any of us? No, she didn’t.”

Wynonna stares at Nicole and takes a drink from her bottle. “I’m a bad influence on her.”

Nicole’s hands press against her desk, her chair rolling back forcefully as she stands. “Would you stop talking about yourself that way?”

Her voice is too sharp she knows, but she’s just too angry - herself just as much as Wynonna. She’d written Wynonna off, too, in the beginning. It pains her to hear Wynonna write _herself_ off.

“Just speaking the truth,” Wynonna says in a flat voice.

“No, you’re not. You’re just repeating what the idiots of this damn town have been telling you for most of your life. You’re smart and kind, Wynonna Earp, and braver than most people I’ve ever met. You pretend like you don’t care, but I know that’s just because caring has cost you so much. Too much.” Nicole gives her an earnest look, wanting Wynonna to know she means every word.

“Jeez, Nic. You been reading Tony Robbins or something?” Wynonna looks shaken despite the attempt at a joke, both hands gripping the bottle like a lifeline.

Nicole takes a breath and tugs the bottle away, twisting the cap back on setting the bottle down on her desk. She steps around so she’s in front of Wynonna, whose eyes are wide.

Wynonna takes a few steps back until she bumps into another desk.

Nicole follows her, stopping just before their chests touch. She looks down at Wynonna’s lips and back up to her eyes. If she just leaned forward a little, she could be kissing Wynonna. She squeezes her eyes shut.

“You want to know why I ended things with Waverly? I knew my feelings for her had faded when I was able to feel something for someone else.” She opens her eyes and reaches up to cup Wynonna’s cheek. “You.”

“Nic, I,” Wynonna stops and swallows, her head shaking gently from side to side.

Nicole smiles, a wretched small thing as she nods. “I know.” She drops her hand. “I wasn’t going to bring it up.”

Her legs shake as she returns to her desk, but she diligently focuses on the paperwork she still has to finish.

Wynonna leaves scarcely a minute later, not bothering to retrieve her bottle. Nicole manages not to cry until she makes it home.

*

For a week it feels like Wynonna can’t breathe whenever she’s forced to go down to the station, but then her Black Badge duties begin to take up more of her time and she finds that Nicole is a perfect professional at work despite supposedly having feelings for Wynonna.

It’s infuriating, really. Wynonna had been fine - okay, maybe not _fine_ \- going about her business hating Nicole for being a jerk to Waverly, and then Nicole had to go and ruin things by talking about weird things when they’d just been becoming something that might have resembled good friends and...

Well, it doesn’t matter. Wynonna really doesn’t care. Nicole can just get over her feelings, or whatever. Wynonna doesn’t owe her anything.

It helps when Waverly finally begins cheering up.

It helps less when she discovers Waverly cheering up has everything to do with Chrissy Nedley. A _Nedley_? Really?

It definitely doesn’t help when thoughts of Chrissy inevitably lead to the station, and maybe to a certain night a particular officer had insisted her ass was _top shelf_ on the floor of said station.

When Dolls has them tracking a particularly nasty revenant that had decided to come out of hiding with Bobo gone, Wynonna could kiss him. Well she has before, and it was pretty nice. Maybe she’ll try it again some time when she isn’t preoccupied with mentally calling Nicole every name under the sun.

Having Peacemaker back in her hand while she watches another revenant being dragged back to hell is immensely satisfying. She’s considering changing her catch phrase to “go to hell” just for fun when she’s suddenly shoved to the side.

The air is knocked from her lungs and her eyes are watering and then she’s glaring over at Nicole, who’s now prone next to her on the uneven ground and the small group of shrubs they’re now settled in the middle of. “What the hell?”

“Not now, Earp. There’s another revenant,” Nicole says in a breathy voice. She winces and holds her chest.

“Jesus christ, Nicole, did you get shot _again_?”

“Revenant,” Nicole insists when Wynonna almost reaches out to her.

“Right.” Wynonna rises up and ducks down, just in time for a bullet to cut through the leaves where her head had just been.

“Well that’s not nice,” Wynonna says. She rocks on her heels and then she’s rushing around to take cover behind a tree, catching a good glimpse of the revenant as he pokes out to fire again. “You’re one ugly fella,” she calls out and is rewarded with a spray of wood chips when his bullet hits the outside edge of the tree.

“And not too bright,” she says some moments later when the revenant is scrambling to reload his gun and Peacemaker is lighting up with orange glyphs.

She stops halfway on her return to Nicole, catching sight of Dolls standing near the open passenger side door of Nicole’s patrol car. And there’s Nicole sitting slouched over and nodding along to whatever Dolls is saying.

“Well, now that I’ve put two rev-heads in the ground I think it’s time to break your tea party up.”

“Funny, Earp. I’m going to have to ask you to drive Officer Haught back to the station. Your second friend there was hiding a pretty big stash of weapons. I need to take them to a Black Badge drop site for analysis, there’s some interesting stuff there.”

Wynonna intends to protest, but then Dolls is clapping her on the shoulder and smiling. “Glad you agree with me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She kicks at the side of Nicole’s car when he drives off. “Sonofabitch,” she says as she grabs her foot and winces.

“Are you okay?”

Wynonna drops her foot and glares. “You just got shot and you’re asking _me_ if I’m okay?”

“Kevlar,” Nicole says as she tugs the shirt collar of her uniform away.

“That might not always save your ass, you know.”

“I’m sorry, are you mad at me for _saving_ you?” Though Nicole has been sitting in an effort to rest, she stands, unable to understand Wynonna’s ire.

“You’re damn right I am,” Wynonna grits out.

“That doesn’t even make sense!” Nicole stops and slumps back against the car, her breaths coming in careful and measured.

Wynonna frowns and rests a hand on her shoulder. “I think you might need to go to the hospital.”

“Wynonna--”

“ _Nicole_.”

“Alright. Fine.” Nicole pauses. “I think maybe I cracked a rib or something.”

Wynonna, who’s just opened the door wider to facilitate Nicole’s return to the passenger seat, glares at her again. “You are such an idiot.”

“What?” Nicole has barely gotten the word out before Wynonna’s in her face, and just when she thinks she’s about to get yelled at, Wynonna gives her a soft look.

The look is immediately followed by a single, tender kiss. “Don’t scare me like that, okay?” Wynonna says softly.

Nicole can only nod her head.

They’ve been driving several minutes when Wynonna suddenly speaks. “I’m not your girlfriend or anything, okay? We’re just two people hanging out and seeing how things go.”

“Right, yeah,” Nicole says as she fights a smile.

“I mean it,” Wynonna insists.

“I got it.” Nicole holds up her hands in surrender, careful to keep a straight face.

Some time later they’re at the hospital sitting in the packed waiting room.

“But just so we’re clear, we shouldn’t be hanging out with other people while we’re seeing how these things go,” Wynonna blurts out as she looks anywhere but at Nicole.

Nicole doesn’t bother hiding her smile.


End file.
